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Tag Archives: Finlayson Sweater

Last week when I shared some of the submissions to our Finlayson Sweater Photo Contest I didn’t share Nancy’s beautiful photos of her husband modelling his sweater because I didn’t yet have the right format of photo to share. These photos are too great not to share so, now that I have the photos, I decided they are well worth an extra blog post!

Nancy’s husband paired his Finlayson Sweater (Variation 1 but with an added kangaroo pocket from Variation 2) with a leather jacket and tan trousers for a perfect spring outfit.

I think these photos show how versatile the Finlayson can be because you can see it here sewn up in a cozy and casual sweatshirt fleece…yet look how put together and polished it looks when dressed up a bit with the right jacket!

Thanks, ever so much for sharing your photos, Nancy (and for re-sending them to me in a different format!), and thanks to your husband for making such a dashing model!

You can see more of Nancy’s very wearable, practical and stylish sewing projects on her instagram account (@notfancynancy) or on her blog. I particularly enjoyed her Instagram post about the collar she replaced on her husband’s much-loved field jacket as a birthday present. She gave the jacket a fresh new lease on life!

Wow, that was a really tough choice! Our Finlayson Photo Contest ended at noon PST today and I had a lot of amazing photos to choose from. Thank you for carefully sewing, wrangling up a model, and taking such lovely photo shoots!

Congratulations to our three winners:

Mary sewed Variation 1 and took gorgeous wintery photos of her husband, Kyle, wearing his new sweater at Falls Park in Pendleton, Indiana. These will be the main photos of the Finlayson on our website!

Roni sewed Variation 2 featuring an eye catching contrast hood lining. Her brother did a great job modelling! This will be the secondary photo of the Finlayson in our shop. Thanks, Roni!

And, lastly, from the increasingly large and varied selection of Finlaysons on Instagram at #finlaysonsweater we’ve chosen this gorgeous Finlayson (with lots of interesting RTW inspired modifications) sewn by Andrea’s daughter for Andrea’s son and shared by Andrea @fabricepiphanies. I’ve contacted you via Instagram, Andrea!

While I couldn’t choose everyone as winners for this contest, I must show off some of the hard work you guys went to and the wonderfully wearable garments that resulted:

Thank you to all who took part in this contest! If you are inspired to sew the Finlayson Sweater after viewing all of these versions (I know I am!), head over to the shop to claim your PDF or tissue pattern.

Now it’s time for me to edit and resize the winner’s photos to update our old and not-so-great website shots of the Finlayson…wahoo!

I’ve never been happy with the photo shoot that we did for our Finlayson Sweater pattern and am constantly impressed by the pictures I see popping up of the Finlayson on blogs and Instagram…so I thought that I might invite you to send me your favourite Finlayson photo shoot to feature as the main pattern photos on our website! Believe me, Matt will be incredibly grateful to be spared the pain of modelling for a fresh Finlayson photo shoot (he detests modelling).

Here is how the contest works:

Email me at info@threadtheory.ca with a link or your attached photos by March 2nd. This gives you two weeks to sew a fresh Finlayson or take pictures of an existing Finlayson. I’ll announce the winners on the blog that day! All photo shoots must include a minimum of three (3) photos of the same Finlayson Sweater.

Two winners will be selected – one featuring the collared Variation 1 and the other featuring the hooded Variation 2. The sweaters must be sewn as per the pattern instructions to be considered (no modifications). Each winner will receive $100 CAD for their photo shoot (which I can e-transfer to you upon announcing the winners and after I have contacted you to ensure I have the right email address to transfer your prize).

Photos must be available for me to purchase in high resolution. Once purchased, Thread Theory would have the right to edit and use the photos that we purchase as our own.

Keep in mind our Thread Theory aesthetic when taking your photos! We love natural backgrounds featuring woodland, grassland and mountains. We love when men smile for photos and act as natural as they can (a difficult task when modelling for a photo shoot!). Our website images are portrait orientation but we like to have a landscape option as well so we can use at least one photo for our front page banner.

And lastly, a 3rd prize of a $50 credit to our Thread Theory shop will be given for our favourite photo featured on Instagram using #finlaysonsweater! This 3rd winner will be notified directly through Instagram.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with! Thanks for joining in the fun!

Please ask any questions via the blog comments…you will want to be certain you are clear of the contest rules before you go to all the work of sewing and photographing!

The decorative facing at the neckline is a scrap of bamboo and cotton stretch jersey, also from our shop! I added charcoal grosgrain along the neckline seam allowance as the Finlayson Sweater directions instruct you to do.

Even with these details, this sweater only took me 1 3/4 hours to sew, including the time taken to cut out the fabric!

It makes such a great gift because the fit is very forgiving and it is so quick to sew…but it doesn’t look like a rushed gift at all. In fact, the Finlayson can be a very thoughtfully personalised since the neckline can be customised with fabric and ribbon choices that perfectly suit the recipient.

I decided to give this Finlayson purely as a gift with no strings attached – usually I ask him to model for me but I thought he could really use a break from that for once. 😛

In other news: I’ve added a number of new items to the sale section of our shop – you will find a variety of tools, fabrics and patterns at sale prices of up to 30% off! The Finlayson Sweater (both PDF and tissue) is one of those 30% off items! Enjoy!

This summer Matt tested out our mid-weight merino sweater knit in the Yukon and northern British Columbia while on a road trip with his uncle.

I couldn’t resist sharing a few of his stunning photos to get you in the mood for chilly sweater weather!

He wore a (sewn by me) wool Strathcona Henley layered over a superfine merino base layer (not sewn by me, but could have been using the superfine merino that we carry in the shop) and topped things off with this (sewn by me) Merino double knit Finlayson Sweater:

Paired with his (sewn by me) Dintex Hemingway Windcheater and a (knit by me) toque he stayed warm and also mobile during frigid early morning walks. This merino double knit has a black nylon backing which makes it slip easily over woolly long sleeve layers and prevents one from feeling uncomfortably ‘bundled up’.

We have three merino double knit colorways in the shop right now: Two gorgeously saturated options and one more sedate charcoal grey. The newest merino double knit is a stunning Nova Red which contains just a hint of warm orange. We also have restocked Moroccan and Charcoal in the shop which were in huge demand last winter:

In addition to these merino blends, you will also find another option within our growing collection of sustainable and rugged hemp knits! This time, in keeping with our sweater theme, I’ve added three colorways of hemp and recycled polyester fleece.

This fleece could not be more ideal for the Finlayson Sweater or a classic zip-up hoodie! The wrong side features an ultra soft brushed nap while the right side is attractively heathered.

This hemp fleece is available in Lake blue, elegant dark Charcoal, and a very gentle Forest green.

I will be cutting in to one of these before the end of the month to sew a birthday Finlayson Sweater for my Dad. I know he’ll be reading this blog post but don’t worry, I already spoiled the surprise by asking him if he would like a Finlayson Sweater a couple of months ago! If I sew for someone else, I like to be certain that they actually want or need the finish garment in their wardrobe. He said he would love Variation 1!

Speaking of being certain and confident in regards to your sewing plans, I’ve added Swatch Kits to our shop so that you can feel our fabrics and perhaps show them to the intended recipient of your hard work before committing to buying yardage!

The swatch kits cost $5 CAD and come with a coupon to give you $5 off of your next Thread Theory order so that your kit will be fully reimbursed. You can choose any three fabrics and I will pack them up along with our sewing themed coaster and a little note card.

If you’ve been wanting to sprinkle water on our waterproof Dintex fabric, have wondered how our canvas feels, or been unable to choose between interlock and jersey t-shirt knits, the swatch kit is for you!

Despite the knee high snow and driving icy rain outside, I know Spring will be on its way soon! It’s time to clear the studio shelves a little so that I have room to order our Spring Fabric Collection! Our entire selection of fabric is currently 15% off – so if you have been tempted to order some Dintex rain jacket fabric or some beautiful merino wool, now is your final opportunity!

Use the discount code WINTERFABRIC upon checkout to receive 15% off any fabric in your shopping cart. The sale is for this weekend only!

Once most of these fabrics are sold out we won’t be restocking them any time soon since I will be choosing a new selection of fabrics that work well with our sewing patterns each season. We are already sold out of many of the Dintex colors…but there are still some great options available!

It isn’t only the Fall and Winter fabrics that are on sale…all of our fabric is! The very high quality Canadian-made knit fabrics that I have stocked since the launch of our menswear supply shop in Nov. 2015 are also 15% off right now!

I just sewed Matt a new Finlayson Sweater using the black sweatshirt fleece. As long as Matt stays well away from our white-haired pup, Luki, I think he looks really smart in this pure black fleece! It’s the warmest sweater in our closet so I’ve been wearing it quite a bit lately too.

It makes me happy and reassured to think that no aspect of this sweater was created outside of Canada. The people who manufactured this fabric work in excellent conditions with fair pay. And the person who manufactured the sweater (me!) certainly works in great conditions and received a Matt-made hall table in trade for this garment…I’d say that’s pretty fair pay too.

It’s very difficult to convey how luxurious these Canadian-made fleece, interlock and ribbing fabrics are using photos since they are all solid colors that may just look like any other knit when photographed. As soon as you feel the density of the interlock or the incredibly plush wrong side of the sweatshirt fleece, you will know what I mean! I have been told by a number of sewists who have ordered these knits from us that they are reminiscent of the thickness and quality of pure cotton knits in the 1970s. A t-shirt made in the interlock or a sweatshirt made in the fleece will last for MANY years of heavy wear.

I hope this fabric sale has come at a good time for you! Maybe you can squeeze in a couple more cozy winter projects before the weather warms?